A year of natural disasters has left Japan’s top three property and casualty (P&C) insurers with a bill expected to top JPY1trn ($8.7bn) by the end of the fiscal year, raising the prospect of a hike in premiums for the first time in years. The payments are likely to total more than $3.51bn from MS&AD Insurance and $2.63bn from Tokio…

Data analytics provider Verisk has released a study examining the significant risks and trends that could seriously impact the businesses of insurers and risk managers, from environmental changes and technological developments to their potential effects on humans and society. The report, Insurance Perspectives on Evolving Risks, looks across geographic and disciplinary borders to examine themes ranging from climate- and weather-related…

The risk of a cyberattack is the biggest concern among business leaders in east Asia and the Pacific, according to the Regional Risks for Doing Business report from the World Economic Forum (WEF). The prominence of cyber risk reflects the rapid pace of digitalisation and the increasing sophistication of the region’s economies, according to the report. Southeast Asia also boasts…

Insurance buyers in North America will pay higher commercial insurance rates next year with some lines reaching double-digit increases, according to Willis Towers Watson’s Marketplace Realities 2019 report. Willis says hype about property rate increases following heavy catastrophe losses in 2017 masked where the real increases have pushed through – casualty and professional liability lines…

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is expanding its alternative risk transfer (ART) business with the launch of a new unit dedicated to Asia-Pacific. Former Marsh & McLennan managing director Richard Green will head up the new business. Mr Green has been based in Asia since 2005 and was previously regional head of ART and cyber insurance at Marsh, where…

Risk modelling firm RMS has compiled a list of ten ‘one in a 100-year’ natural catastrophes that could hit the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting the region’s vulnerability to environmental disasters. The region has already suffered a number of catastrophes in 2018, including Typhoons Jebi and Mangkhut, and the Palu earthquake in Indonesia. However, RMS believes there is a likely expectation of…

No dominant post-Brexit hub is emerging for London company firms, as the market delivered a 16% premium jump in 2017 and its statistics begin to reflect changing dynamics bought about by the UK’s EU exit, according to a report by the International Underwriting Association (IUA)…

Hong Kong will step up its efforts to foster the creation of an insurance-linked securities (ILS) market through the introduction of legislation to allow the formation of special purpose vehicles to issue the securities, according to Clement Cheung, chief executive of the Insurance Authority (IA), the territory’s new regulatory body. The IA reports that Mr Cheung also revealed during his…

September saw Asia suffer thousands of fatalities and billions of dollars in insurance losses in the costliest month of natural disasters so far in 2018. Yet despite the high number of claims, insured losses will be relatively lower than in the US despite more severe damage to property, more instances of business interruption and a significantly higher number of deaths.…

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has launched a parametric trigger-based, standalone, haze insurance solution for businesses operating in Singapore. The coverage protects companies from a potential loss of income and reduced trade if a haze event hits Singapore. Southeast Asia has suffered badly from haze outbreaks during the past two decades, mainly because of the burning of peat forests in the…